AD PATRES: "Musical technique really isn't a matter, it is just the music we like to play that sometimes requires skills but we have never considered to use this or that technique for the sake of just using it."
March 17, 2019
AD PATRES is a Death Metal from France who just weeks ago released their second full length album, "A Brief Introduction to Human Experiments." It has received universal acclaim and we at Metal Temple gave it near perfect marks. It is a crushing album that displays the highly technical skills but on a more straight forward, brutal sonic approach. Metal Temple writer Justin Wittenmeierrecently had a chance to talk with through email and here is what they had to say.
Congrats on the release of your latest album, "A Brief Introduction To Human Experiments." It received a great score from me at Metal Temple but it is also getting very good reviews on a lot of other Metal news/review sites as well. Do you think this album is getting more media attention than your previous full length? Will this one, perhaps, open up any new doors for the band?
The reception of A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN EXPERIMENTS has been fantastic so far. I would say I feel more reactions from people in France and our local club promoters. I think it is easier for us now to book some shows in our country now compared to the release of Scorn Aesthetics but we are still quite unknown internationally. We have a step up to take here. Live concerts really is our biggest preoccupation. Fingers crossed the new album will help us play abroad even more than the previous one.
As I noted in my review, "A Brief Introduction!." contains an amazing balance between Technical and Brutal Death Metal. As far as song writing goes, is it a challenge to include both these elements without going too far into either one?
Honestly, there is no such consideration during our writing process. Musical technique really isn't a matter, it is just the music we like to play that sometimes requires skills but we have never considered to use this or that technique for the sake of just using it. But it is appropriate to mention it because we make the same observation that a trend has emerged for which technique is a goal and we really deplore that.
Arnaud Pecoste, I found your bass on the album to be a highlight as it really added another dimension to the sound. All too often in Death Metal, bassist really don't stand out all that much. Of course there are exceptions so who in DM has influenced you? What about outside DM or metal in general?
I really am not a bass expert and so, I have never focused on finding my style or even have tried to study other bassists playing to feed my own musicianship. Some bass players I admire - but I don't think I could even hope to have anything in common music wise - are Steve DiGiorgio, Paul MacCartney, Alex Webster, Viktonik (in ) and many bassists from Black Metal bands.
The album's production is well done-clear but precise enough to capture the brutality of the music and yet captures each note on the technical side of the music is in full display. It seems Metal fans are divided on production in the genre, as some prefer something raw for extreme Metal. As the songs were being written, did how the production need to sound influence them? Or did the song writing have a hand in how the album's sound needed to come out?
I'd choose the second option. The writing process is majorly handled by our guitar player Olivier Bousquet while the sound was produced by our other guitarist Pierre-Yves Marani who runs his own studio "Ubik Mastering". The two steps are nearly independent and we tend to consider that if you need the song to have some special production to be good, it means the riffs are not good enough!
The lyrics on "A Brief Introduction!" contain a lot of depth; they really speak to the human condition and psyche but they can also be brutal. What is it about Death Metal that, despite the abrasiveness of it all, can often times be the best vehicle for lyrics that make you think? Thank you very much!
Regarding the lyrics carrying deep feelings in Death Metal, I think it can possibly be for two main reasons: first, as the vocalist is actually screaming, it helps to make words get out of the flesh with more power, more energy, and eases the expression of ideas that require an effort. Second reason, in my opinion, is that the lyrics are barely heard and understood due to the kind of vocals, and I think this probably helps expressing things beyond intimacy and decency.
As for Ad Patres, do you consider yourselves a "thinking man's" band at all? How did the concept for the songs form?
Individually, I have a very cerebral approach of things in life, that indeed includes, music, the band and the lyrics I write for the band and the concepts we develop. But as a band, I think we are much more natural and straightforward than the idea you could have if you dissect the lyrics and the concepts.
France seems like it is going thru a renaissance of sorts for Metal. Has the France scene always been so strong, particularly with extreme metal? What is it about France that makes it such a breeding ground for Metal?
France is not a huge country for extreme metal compared to UK, Finland, Norway or USA, but we have a good bunch of bands and quite a few are making it to the international level recently. I think it really is a very good think. It helps set the focus on French scene and French bands.
The band is playing a lot of festivals this year!does the band prefer a larger setting like that or a more intimate experience, like a smaller bar or theater? I think you have one of those sounds that would be extremely brutal in a smaller setting but would also have no problem filling a larger area at a festival.
You are right, I think we are very well trained for intimate venues and we deliver tons of brutality while looking deep inside the eyes of the audience. We feel really comfortable with the proximity of the crowd and we really enjoy the communication and the interaction it allows.
Maybe because you always want what you have less, but we are starving to get more experience on bigger stages and this year, and in the future, we will have several opportunities to play on bigger stages and we are eagerly waiting for it.
The final track on the album, "The Floating Point," really ended the album strongly. It is also the longest track on the album!was it placed at the end, to be sort of a grand finale if you will?
In the future, is the band going to explore longer song structures like the aforementioned "The Floating Point?" You guys pulled it off very well, it contained a lot of interesting ideas but it never felt forced or tiring.
Thank you very much, again!
We thought we had two options to place The Floating Point on the album tracklist, without being too awkward due to the singularity of the song, either on the first or the last spot. We chose to open the album very strongly and directly with more brutal and less progressive tracks. We did the sale on the previous album, starting with The Lock and closing with All That Remains. We like to start with a violent impact and finish the albums with songs that take more time to really tell a story. We have not planned any musical direction but we enjoyed a lot diving in some dissonance and layered composition.
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